Welcome to worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE “Go Forth in Faith” Franklin Ritter
CONFESSION AND FORGIVNESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
who forgives all our sin, whose mercy endures
forever.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin and come to God for healing.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Gracious God,
have mercy on us.
We confess that we have honored you with our
lips,
but have harmed our neighbors with our tongues.
The cravings at war within us
cause conflicts and disputes.
In our desire to be first
we make distinctions among ourselves.
We place the needs of the poor and the suffering
last.
In your great mercy, forgive us our sins.
Draw near to us with grace in time of need,
and turn us to follow in the way of Jesus
Christ,
our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
God promises to forgive our iniquity
and to remember our sin no more.
By grace you have been saved.
In the name of ☩ Jesus Christ,
the source of eternal healing,
your sins are forgiven.
Amen.
HYMN Word of God Incarnate #514
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also
with you.
KYRIE
HYMN OF PRAISE
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Children's message
1So now,
Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to
observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is
giving you. 2You must
neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but
keep the commandments of the Lord your
God with which I am charging you.
6You must observe them
diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who,
when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a
wise and discerning people!” 7For what other great nation has a god so near to
it as the Lord our God
is whenever we call to him? 8And what other great nation has statutes and
ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? 9But take care and watch
yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen
nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known
to your children and your children’s children.
Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Psalm: Psalm 15
1Lord, who may dwell in
your | tabernacle?
Who may abide upon your | holy hill?
2Those who lead a
blameless life and do | what is right,
who speak the truth | from their heart;
3they do not slander with
the tongue, they do no evil | to their friends;
they do not cast discredit up- | on a neighbor.
4In their sight the wicked
are rejected, but they honor those who | fear the Lord.
They have sworn upon their health and do not take | back their word.
5They do not give their
money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes a- | gainst the
innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be | overthrown.
Second Reading: James 1:17-27
17Every
generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down
from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change. 18In
fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that
we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.19You must understand this,
my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to
anger; 20for your
anger does not produce God’s righteousess. 21Therefore rid yourselves
of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the
implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22But be doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23For if any are hearers of
the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a
mirror; 24for they
look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were
like. 25But those
who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not
hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26If any think they are
religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is
worthless. 27Religion
that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans
and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Word of the
Lord. Thanks be to God
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark the 7th
chapter. Glory to you O Lord.
1Now when
the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around [Jesus], 2they noticed that some of
his disciples were eating with
defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and
all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus
observing the tradition of the
elders; 4and they do
not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many
other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the
scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition
of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6He said to them, “Isaiah
prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors
me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7in vain do they worship
me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ 8You abandon the commandment of God and hold
to human tradition.” 14Then he called the crowd
again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside
a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what
defile. 21“For it is from within,
from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft,
murder, 22adultery,
avarice, wickedness, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things
come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Gospel
of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
APOSTLES
CREED
I believe in God, the
Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day
he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right
hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE, PEACE, OFFERING,
COMMUNION PRAYER
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMUNION
HYMN For the Beauty of the Earth #879
POST COMMUNION PROCLAMATION AND PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN Congregations Choice
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE “Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil” Marilyn Biery
Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through
OneLicense. A-710659
